1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to weapons simulators. in particular, this invention relates to a weapons simulator for training a marksman on an anti-armor weapon such as a Dragon Guidance System.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order that military combat training may be carried out in a realistic manner without risk to the personnel taking part in the practice, there is need for a system which simulates the firing of a weapon, such as a Dragon Guidance System or other type of missile launcher. Especially, there is a need for a system to simulate combat with tanks and other armored vehicles. In order to make it possible to carry out combat field practice in a manner as realistic as possible, such a simulator system must be designed such that it does not prevent the target and the weapon with its operator from acting in a manner that would be natural and necessary in genuine combat. Further, the simulator must be designed to indicate immediately whether a simulated projectile fired by the weapon would have hit the intended target in the real case. In addition, the simulator system must give evidence of the skill and precision of the operator of the weapon.
One such device of the prior art utilizes a laser pulse of radiation which is emitted from a weapon in a direction dependent on the aiming direction of the weapon. The laser pulse of radiation, if it scores a hit upon the intended target, will actuate a radiation sensitive receiver device mounted on the target. However, prior art simulator systems of this type do not generally allow for realistic combat practice. In particular, these prior art systems do not consider the fact that real projectiles have a curved trajectory, and the fact that the propagation time for a laser pulse of radiation is negligible compared with the time of flight of a real projectile to a target. In addition, these prior art systems do not consider the fact that in genuine combat situations, the target is a moving target such that lead must be considered when firing the weapon.